Machine for making wood wool



y 1944- 1 A. ELMENDORF 2,349,034

' MACHINE FOR MAKING WOOD WOOL I Filed Sept. 8, 1941 5 Sheets-Sheet lWag/(x071 y 16, 1944- A. ELMENDORF 2,349,034

I MACHINE FOR MAKING WOOD WOOL Filed Sept. 8, 1941 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 y16, 4 A. ELMENDORF 2,349,034

MACHINE FOR MAKING WOOD WOOL Filed Sept. 8, 1941 r 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 May16, 1944. A. ELMENDORF MACHINE FOR MAKING WOOD WOOL Filed Sept. 8, 19415 Sheets-Sheet 4 i W J l /&

fifenforr y 1944. A. ELMENDORF 2,349,034

MACHINE FOR MAKING WOOD WOOL Filed Sept. 8, 1941 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 F I JQjzz/nfor;

Patented May 16, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MACHINE FOR MAKINGWOOD WOOL Armin Elmendorf, Winnetka, Ill. Application September 8, 1941,Serial No. 409,941

8 Claims.

The present invention has for its primary obiect to produce a machinefor rapidly transforming wood blocks or small logs into shreds orfilaments, especially very fine ones that are less than twoone-hundredths of an inch wide or thick.

A further object of the present invention. is to produce a simple andnovel form of cutter for use in the aforesaid machine, which shall behighly emcient, durable and be easily sharpened when necessary.

A further object of the presentinvention is to produce a cutter whichwill cause the shreds or filaments to curl as they are formed and thuscollect in a fiufiy mass or body as they drop down from the cutter.

Generally speaking, therefore, the present invention may be said to havefor its object to make possible the production of what may be termedwood wool, rapidly, at a low cost, and in very large volume, if desired.

The principal features of my invention are a novel cutting means andmeans for holding small logs or blocks of wood and producing relativemovements between the cutting means and the wood in a direction to causethe shreds or filaments to be cut away from the same face or side of thewood until only a thin slab remains. Thus, no manual operations arerequired to turn or otherwise adjust a log during the process ofdisintegration, and the thin slab that remains after 7 the shredding hasgone as far as it is practicable to go represents muchless waste of wood.than does the compartively large core that is left in the oldexcelsior-manufacturing process which involves the turning of the log orblock to present I new faces, from time to time, to the cutters.

It may therefore be said that one of the objects of the presentinvention is greatly to reduce Figure 1 is a top plan view of a machineembodying the present invention, only a fragment being shown in fulllines and the remainder being outlined in broken lines; Fig. 2 is afragmentary view, illustrating both ends of a part of a log or block andblade-like holding elements partly driven into the same; Fig. 3 is avertical section through the machine illustrated in Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is asectional view, on a much larger scale than Fig. 3, showing, in greaterdetail, a fragment of the machine as it appears at the extreme righthandside in Fig. 3; Fig. 5is an elevational view of a fragment of astationary frame structure and the edge of the rotatable table, lookingtoward the left from the right of Fig. 4; Fig. 6 is a vertical sectionon a plane at right angles to a radius of the rotating table, throughone of the box-like holders for the blocks or short logs, together withthe underlying position of the table; Fig. 7 is a top plan view of thatpart of the machine appearing in Fig. 6; Fig. 8 is a section takenapproximately on line 8-8 of Fig. 6, fragments of both end walls of thebox-like holder being broken away to disclose log-gripping blades atopposite ends of the holder; Fig. 9 is a perspective view of one of thesections of the ring-like auxiliary table top; Fig. 10 is a top planview of one of the individual cutters, a series of which are attached toeach of the auxiliary table top sections; Fig. 11 is an end view of thecutter shown in Fig. 10, looking at the toothed end; and Fig. 12 is aview of that edge face of the blade which is at the bottom edge asviewed in Fig. 10.

My new cutting blade is illustrated in Figs. 10, 11 and 12. It consistsof a long, flat piece of steel l of considerable thickness rectangularin cross section. One end of the blade, as indicated at 2, is bevelledin the manner of a chised, the face 2 making an acute angle with theupper face of the blade. In the upper face of the blade are a series offairly deep grooves 3, of uniform depth, extending inwardly orrearwardly for a considerable distance through the front end or edge.The cutting is done by the ends of the ribs separating the grooves. Whenthe grooves are rectangular in cross section, as has heretofore been thecase, the section of the ribs is also rectangular, providing fairly longcutting edges in the plane of the bevelled face of the tool. In this oldtype of tool the teeth, as they may be called, break off upon strikinghard knots, necessitating frequent sharpening of the tool and causingconsiderable waste of tool steel because of the large amount of metalthat must be ground off simply because a single tooth has been broken. Ihave found that such breakage is prvented and that it is much easier tocut with such a tool by sloping the sides 4 of the grooves and placingthe grooves close together to cause the near sides of adjacent groovesto meet in the upper face of the tool; each rib or ridgebeing,therefore, triangular in cross section and having only two cutting edges6 arranged in the form of a V the apex 5 of which lies in the plane ofthe upper face of the tool. The bottoms of the grooves or valleys arepreferably of considerable width.

It will be seen that if one of my blades is substituted for the blade ina plane, and the latter' is pressed against a piece of wood, the points5, even though they be rounded somewhat, enable the teeth .or cuttingelements readily to penetrate the wood and easily to drive through thesame. Upon encountering a knot, the load comes gradually upon each toothas a whole, the pointed end of the tooth being strongly backed by aprogressively widening base and, therefore, the teeth are not easilybroken. Filaments or strands of very small cross sectional areas,running in the general direction of the grain of a piece of wood, maytherefore be cut easily and neatly and with a minimum amount of wear onthe tool. A characteristic .of the filaments or strands is that theycurl up as they are produced.

In accordance with my invention, I form what may be regarded as acircular plane, containing a considerable number of radially-disposedblades distributed entirely around the circle, and provide means forholding small logs or-blocks in contact with and feeding them toward theface of the plane While producing relative rotation between the holdersand the plane.

In the arrangement shown, there is a horizontal table I in the form of awide, fiat annular plate overlying and fastened to a large gear wheel 8rotatably supported by a suitable stationary pedestal 9. As best shownin Figs. 6 and 7, the table contains a series of large radial windows ldistributed around the same. Secured above and spaced apart from thetable 1 is an annular ring composed of individual radial sections IIthat form the face with which the wood to be worked engages; thesesections being of such size and shape and being so disposed that narrowradial gaps l2 are left between consecutive ring sections, one aboveeach window.

The ring sections II are detachable and serve as holders for thecutters. It is advisable that the individual cutter blades be fairlynarrow for purposes of manufacture, sharpening, installation andreplacement, whereas the width of a gang of little radially-arrangedcutting elements should be much greater. In the arrangement shown, theblades are arranged in groups of seven and placed edge to edge, althoughany greater or lesser number may be employed. The ring sections H aresimply thick flat slabs, whereas the cutting blades must stand at anacute angle to the upper faces of these members. Therefore, as bestshown in Fig. 9, the leading edge of each ring section is bevelleddownwardly and inwardly except at the extreme ends, as indicated at M,to provide a bearing seat for a group of seven blades placed edge toedge and to cause the blades to stand at the proper angle to thehorizontal. Each cutter is preferably held in place independently of theothers, to facilitate assembly and removal and replacement of individualcutters. Each cutter therefore has a wide central slot l5 extendingthrough the rear end thereof almost to the rear ends of the grooves 3,and each ring section has extending through its sloping face 14 a groupof screw-threaded holes l6 equal in number to the number of cutters. Asbest shown in Fig. 6, each cutter is held in place by means of a littlerigid shoe or clamp element ll between which and the sloping face of thesupporting member H the cutter lies; there being a sturdy screw l8extending through the shoe or clamp and into one of the screw-threadedholes It. It will be seen that upon loosening one of the screws I8, thecorresponding cutter may be removed without separating the screw fromthe ring section.

It will be seen that the action of a cutter is to remove strands orfilaments of wood from the block or log, leaving little groovesseparated by unmutilated portions of the wood. Therefore, in 15 order toseparate into filaments all of the wood in a layer of given thicknessacross the entire face of the block or log, a plurality of gangs ofcutting elements, following one after the other and tracking differentlyfrom each other, are required. For example, should the distance betweengrooves left in the wood by a single radial row of cutting elements beeight times as great as the width of the grooves themselves, it wouldrequire eight additional gangs of cutting elements, each cutting awayone-eighth of the virgin surface, before all of the wood in a singlelayer were removed. It is therefore desirable that means be providedquickly and accurately to adjust each gang of cutting elements so as totrack properly to carry out its part of the work, and to obviate thenecessity of making new adjustments whenever a gang of cutting elementsis sharpened. To this end I have provided means for accurately adjustingthe ring sections radially so as to arrange them in consecutive order ingroups each adapted to cut away one complete layer of wood from a blockor log; such means permitting the removal and replacement of the ringsections without requiring readjustment in the radial direction.

In the arrangement shown, in order to provide the necessary spacebetween the top of the table and the under side of the sectional ring, Imount the sectional ring on rails l9 and 20 in the form of concentricrings of different diameters mounted on top of the table; these ringsunderlying the ends of the ring sections. The actual fastening of thering sections to the rails is accomplished by means of screws 22, one ofwhich passes through a single open-ended slot 24 (see Fig. 9) in one endof a ring section, into one of the rails, while two others extend intothe other rail through a pair of open-ended slots 25 in the oppositeends of the ring section. A corner of each ring section is cut away atthe end containing the single slot, to provide a transverse shoulder 26inwardly from the end of the section. In the space thus left above therail I9 is placed a two-part nut 21 the axis of whose opening ishorizontal. A screw 28 extends through this nut and is adapted to abutagainst the shoulder 26. By screwing the screw 28 farther in or backingit off, the position of the ring section radially of the table can bevaried within the required limits. The holding screws 22 do notinterfere with these adjustments because they pass through elongatedslots in the ring section, instead of through mere holes. After eachstop screw has been properly positioned, it may be locked againstaccidental displacement by clamping the divided nut 21 upon the same.This can conveniently be accomplished by employing a pair of screws 29to secure the two parts of the nut together and at the same time fastenthe nut as a whole to the rail l9. By backing off the nut 25 a 4 little,the grip of the nut on the screw 28 is loosened sufiiciently to permitthe screw to be turned without detaching the nut.

When it is necessary to sharpen a group of cutters, all that need bedone is to remove the single screw 22 at one end of the ring sectioncarrying those cutters, and loosen the other two screws sufficiently topermit the ring section to be lifted out. After the cutters have beensharpened, the ring section is simply slipped back into place andshifted until one end is in contact with the stop screw. Then thesection need only be fastened down by means of the screws 22, with theassurance that the cutting elements are properly located.

The space between ring section and the underlying part of the table 1between adjacent window openings is preferably closed at both theadvance and the trailing ends by metal plates 3| so that little strandsor filaments dropping down through the slots l2 in the auxiliary tabletop will continue their downward movement through the window openings inthe table. In order to collect the little strands or filaments, I placeunderneath the table an annular shelf 32, L-shaped in cross section; oneflange of the shelf being vertical and the other horizontal. the axis ofthe table there may be located a stationary deflector 34 extendingacross the width of the horizontal portion of the shelf. As successivemasses of filaments or wood wool reach this deflector, they are sweptoff the shelf by the latter and removed in any suitable way.

Since the table must be very true in order to insure uniformity in thecross sectional areas of the filaments, particularly where the filamentsare very fine and not a great deal of shifting in the vertical directionon the part of the table would result in very substantial variation insize of the filaments, I have provided an adjustable circular track onwhich the table may run. As best shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5, there issecured to the under side of the table I, conveniently just below one ofthe rails l9 and 29, a track or rail 35 of steel. This track or railrests upon a series of steel rollers 35 mounted'on rigid uprights 31 ofthe stationary frame structure surrounding the table. The rollersthemselves rotate upon suitable anti-friction bearings 33 eachassociated with a stub shaft 38 fastened to and projecting from a sturdyplate 39. Each of the plates 39 lies beside and against one of theuprights 37, being fastened thereto by means of several screws Mlextending into the same through vertically-elongated slots All in theupright 31. Upon loosening the screws M, the rollers may be adjusted upor down, as may be necessary, and then be securely locked in theiradjusted positions by again tightening the screws.

The machine which I illustrated is adapted to operate upon eight blocksor little logs at a time, although this number may be varied either upor down, as may be desired. The blocks or short logs are adapted to beplaced in holders uniformly spaced above the sectional ring. The holdersare all alike, the principal element of each being a box-like member t3opens at the top and bottom and of a length and width slightly greaterthan the length and diameter, respectively, of a log to be operatedupon. Also, I prefer to make each holder deep or high enough toaccommodate a plurality of logs or blocks, one above another. Thesebox-like holders are arranged with their long sides tangential tocircles touching them and concentric with the table, and each issupported indirectly by one of the standards 31;-the direct supportbeing in the form of a pair of cantilever arms 49 extending inwardlyfrom the upper end standards or columns 31 on opposite sides of theholder. The free ends of the arms 44 have upward extensions 45, andthese are all joined together by a sturdy ring-like member 46. As shownin Figs. 6 and 8, if logs of the proper length and diameter are insertedinto a holder from above, the first one will come to rest upon the topof the divided ring or what has been termed the face of an annularplane. It will be seen that the lAt any suitable point angularly of Ilogs are several times longer than the width of one the right causes aplurality of gangs of cuttin elements to bite into the under side of thelog and cut therefrom filaments running in the general direction of thegrain. When the first log is used the cutters will begin work on thenext log, assuming that the holder contained more than one log.

I prefer not to rely upon the weight of the wood alone to create thenecessary pressure for proper shredding or filamenting of the wood, andtherefore provide means for exerting a downward pressure on any usablewood that may remain in a holder. For example, the upward extensions 45of the framework may be carried up far enough to permit them to supporta fairly long pneumatic cylinder 41 containing a suitable piston, notshown, and a piston rod 48. On the lower end of the piston rod is apresser foot 49 having a. serrated or roughened under face. As shown inFig. 8, when air under pressure is admitted into the upper end of thecylinder, the presser foot is forced down until it rests on top of theuppermost log A in the holder. As the height of the pile of wood in theholder diminishes, the presser foot follows the wood down and thusmaintains suflicient pressure on the wood as long as any remains in aholder to be cut. When the holder is empty, air may be admitted into thelower end of the cylinder, lifting the presser foot above the top of theholder and permitting an additional charge of blocks or logs to beintroduced into the holder. The present invention is not concerned withthe particular form of pressure means or the manner of controlling it.However, air may be admitted through a supply pipe 50 and a three-wayvalve 5! into either end of the air cylinder; a branch pipe 52 leadingfrom the valve into the upper end of the cylinder, while a branch pipe53 extends from the valve into the lower end of the cylinder. It will ofcourse be understood that the description of one holder with itspressure means applies also to all of the other units. Furthermore, thepressure devices may be controlled individually or in any other suitableor desired way.

It is desirable that the logs be held against turning or shifting whilebeing operated upon. For this reason I have provided in each end of theholder 2. number of vertical blades which bite into the ends of a log asit is lowered into the holder and lock it against movements in anydirection except vertically. In the arrangement shown, the blades inwhat may be termed the advance end of the holder are the sharpenedflanges of channel-shaped steel members 55 fastened with their bottomsor web portions against the wall of the holder. At the rear end of theholder are a number of vertical blades 56 secured on the lower ends oflong bars 5'! arranged on the outside of the holder and hinged theretoat their upper ends, near the top of the holder, as indicated at 58. Theblades 53 extend through slots 59 in the rear wall of the holder. Eachof the swinging arms or bars 51 is provided with a set screw 69 whichengages the rear face of the outer wall of the holder and prevents theblade from swinging in too far. Behind the lower end of each of theblades 55 and embracing the same, is a bracket 6 I. Within this bracketis a compression spring 62 that bears against the rear edge of theblade. The rear end of the spring, in turn, bears against the forwardend of a screw 63 that is adjustable forward and rearward in the bracketto increase or decrease the stress on the spring. These springs arestrong enough to force the blades 56 against the end of the log in theholder, with considerable pressure and, in turn, to force the forwardend of the log firmly against the blades 55. By making the blades at atleast one end of the holderyieldable, there is no danger that a log willwedge itself between the two sets of blades and will not drop down tothe bottom of the holder when inserted therein, and yet sufficientpressure can be assured on each log to cause it to be gripped tightlyenough to prevent rotary or lateral displacement.

In order to facilitate the interlocking engagement of the log ends withthe two sets of holding blades, the blades may be cut oil on a bevel attheir upper ends, as indicated at 65 and 66, respectively, therebyavoiding contact of either end of the log with an abrupt shoulder.

Although a log cannot usually be completely worked up into filaments inmy machine, the amount of waste should always be small and amount to notmore than a very thin slab. This slab can be carried ahead underneaththe front wall of the box and be brushed ofi" the table by an attendant.It may happen in the case of a log larger at one end than the other thatthe final slab is wedge-shaped. If such a wedgeshaped element werecarried along by the cutters, it might exert great upward pressure onthe wall of the box-like holder and cause damage. Accordingly, I havemade this wall yieldable in the vertical direction so that it can bepushed up by a wedge driven under it. This wall, as best shown in Figs.6 and 7, and which is numbered 61, slides up and down in grooves 68 inthe box-like member and, as best shown in Fig. 8, is provided at itsupper end with lateral projections or ears 69 which rest on top of thebody portion of the box-like member when the wall is in its loweredposition. Therefore, if a wedge is driven underneath the lower edge ofthe wall 61, the result will be simply to lift the wall up and permitthe wedge to pass.

Another expedient which may be adopted to guard against damage throughthe presence of wedge-shaped waste pieces is to provide some or all ofthe holding blades 55 with little prongs at their extreme lower ends;such 2. prong being conveniently formed by simply cutting away a littlesection of the edge of a blade. When a slab of wood becomes so thin thatit touches only the prong element 10 on one of the blades 55, thepressure of the spring 62 will be sufficient to force this prong wellinto the wood and thus cause the front or advance end to be held upwhile the thicker rear or trailing end is being cut down to acorresponding thickness.

The machine as a whole may be provided with any suitable base. In thearrangement shown, the base is composed of a group of heavy structuralsteel beams ll, secured together and radiating from a common center likethe spokes of a wheel. Each of the uprights 31 is fixed to and risesfrom. the free end of one of these beams, whereas the pedestal 9 for thelarge gear wheel 8 is supported and rises from the center of the basestructure.

The table is, of course, caused to be rotated by driving the gear wheel8 in any suitable way; this being conveniently accomplished by means ofa motor or motor-driven member, 13, acting through a speed reducinggearing 12.

In using the machine, the box-like holders are filled with blocks orlittle peeled logs lying on their sides one on top of another. This isdone while the presser feet stand well above the holders. Air is thenadmitted into the upper ends of the cylinders 41 of the presser devices,thereby forcing the presser feet down and pressing the undermost logsagainst the rotatable table. The blades 55 and 56, in opposite ends ofthe holders bite into the ends of the blocks or logs and hold themagainst turning about their axes or shifting sidewise while being actedupon by the cutters. By making the blades 56 yieldable, bodily, theyaccommodate themselves to logs difiering somewhat in length. Uponsetting the rotatable table in motion the little triangular cuttingelements, projecting above the table, sever little filaments from theunder faces of the lowermost logs.

The machine illustrated is one of great capacity, there being more thanten times as many sectional radial cutters as there are log holders.Therefore, if the cutters are so adjusted that it requires say a groupof eight of them-to cut away a single layer of Wood, more than tenlayers are removed from each log during each revolution of the table.Since the thread-like strands or filaments curl up as they are formed,each revolution of the table produces a large fluify mass of filamentsor fibers. For this rea-- son, unless the cutting elements are spacedfar apart, with wide fiat-bottomed channels between the same, thecutters become clogged and the filaments are not cut cleanly and evenly.

Upon leaving the cutters, the fibers or filaments drop down through thegaps l2 between the ring sections II, and through the windows oropenings ID in the table proper, collecting on the circular shelf 32fixed to the under side of the table. The member 34, overlying theshelf, deflects the fibers or filaments as they reach the same andcauses them to fall ofi the shelf.

As each log is consumed there may remain a final thin slab that cannotbe satisfactorily shredded. This slab can be carried along by thecutters and pass under the end wall 61 of the corresponding holder; thisend wall sliding up under the pressure from below by the slab in casethe slab be wedge shaped, thereby to avoid wedging a slab between theholder and the table.

The proper tracking of the cutters is readily effected by means of thestop screws 28 after the fastening screws 22 have been loosened. Afteran adjustment has once been made it is not disturbed by the removal of aring section with the cutter, the sharpening of the cutter and thesubsequent replacement of the ring section, because the ring sectionneed only be set against the stop screw when returned to its place inthe ring.

It will be seen that because of the large diameter of the table, thecutting elements practically follow the grain of the wood in travellingfrom one end of a log to the other, so that the filaments that areproduced are strong and sturdy although of small cross-sectional areaand of considerable length. Therefore, the product of the machine, beingat the same time cheap, is well adapted, among other things, to themanufacture of the cement fiber board disclosed in my application SerialNo. 362,951, filed October 26, 1940, now issued as Patent No. 2,332,703,dated October 26, 1943.

While I have illustrated and described with particularity only a singlepreferred form of my invention, I do not desire to be limited to therangements which come within the definitions of my inventionconstituting the appended-claims.

I claim:

1. A machine for cutting filaments from blocks of wood comprising atable, a series of cutters distributed in a circle upon the table, eachcutter having a series of small cutting elements projecting above thetable and spaced apart from of a cutter, means to hold blocks of wood inav circular area above and registering with that containing saidcutters, means for pressing the blocks against the table, and means torotate the table and the supporting means for the blocks relatively toeach other.

2. A machine 'for cutting filaments from short logs of wood comprising aturntable, a stationary frame structure, said table having a pluralityoflarge openings therein distributed around the same near the periphery,an auxiliary detachable top for the table comprising a wide flatsectional ring overlying the zone containing said openings, saidsections being spaced apart from each other above each of said openings,separate rastenings for each ring section, radial cutter blades securedto the under sides of said ring sections andextending up through thespaces between the sections to a plane slightly above the auxiliarytable top, and means .on said frame structure for holding small logsabove and pressing them down up on the auxiliary table top whiletangential to a circle having its center at the axis of the turntable.

3. A machine for cutting filaments from short logs of wood comprising aturntable provided on the under side, near the periphery, with acircular rail, a stationary 'frame structure, rollers mounted on saidframe structure under and in engagement with said rail, said tablehaving a plurality ofv large openings distributed around the same nearthe periphery, an auxiliary detachable top for the table comprising awide, fiat sectional ring overlying the zone containing said openings,the sections of the ring being spaced apart from each other above eachof said openings, separate I fastenings for each ring section, radialcutterblades secured to the under sides or said ring sections andextending up through the spaces between the sections to a plane slightlyabove the auxiliary table top, and means on said frame structure torholding small logs above and pressing them down upon the auxiliary tabletop while tangential to a circle having its center at the axis of theturntable.

4, A machine for cutting filaments, comprising a horizontal table, awide fiat ring divided into for producing relative rotary movementsbetween said means and said table.

'5. A machine for cutting filaments from blocks of wood comprising ahorizontal table, a series of like cutters distributed in a circle uponthe table,

each cutter having numerous small cutting elements projecting slightlyabove the table in a row radially of said circle, a plurality ofstationary holders for blocks of wood in the form of boxes open at thetop and at the bottom distributed above the annular area containing saidcutters, presser devices mounted above said boxes and each movable downinto the corresponding box to press a block in the latter against thetable, vertical blade-like elements in opposite ends or each box to biteinto the ends of logs therein and hold them against rotation and againstside wise movements, and means for rotating said table in a direction tocause said cutting elements to separate small filaments from said blocksas they pass underneath the same.

6. In a machine for cutting filaments from short logs, a rotatablehorizontal table, gangs of radially arranged cutting elements on andprojecting slightly above the table, stationary holders for logscomprising box-like members open at the top and bottom supportedslightly above the area traversed by said cutting elements during therotation of the table, each holder being slightly longer and slightlywider than the length and diameter of the logs and having its long sidewalls extending in directions tangent to circles described about theaxis of rotation of the table, that end wall of each holder which is thelast to be approached by a gang of cutters travelling underneath theholder being yieldable in the upward direction, vertical blades fixed toand projecting inwardly from the said yieldable end wall, and verticalspring-pressed blades carried by the other end wall of each holder andprojecting into the log-receiving space in the holder.

7. In a machine for cutting filaments from short logs, a rotatablehorizontal table, gangs of radially arranged cutting elements on andprojecting slightly above the table, stationary holders for logscomprising box-like members open at the top and bottom supportedslightly above the area traversed by said cutting elements duringtherotation of the table, each holder being slightly longer and slightlywider than the length and diameter of the logs and having its long sidewalls extending in directions tangent to circles described about theaxis of rotation 01 the table, that" end wall 01 each holder which isthe last to be approached by a gang of cutters travelling underneath theholder being yieldable in the upward direction. vertical blades fixed toand projectinginwardly from the said yieldable end wall, at least one orthe aforesaid blades having at the lower end a log-engaging prong, andvertical spring-pressed blades carried by the other end wall or eachholder and projecting into the logreceiving space in the holder.

8. In a machine of the character described, a

table, a series of fiat slabs above the table, a gang of narrow cutterblades arranged edge to edge against one long edge face or each slab,means 'to secure each blade separately to the corresponding slab withits cutting edge projecting for an adjustable distance above the upperrace of the slab, and means to secure each slab to the table infixed-spacedrehtion thereto and'in adjustable relation in the directionof the length of the cutting edges of the cutter blades mounted on theslab.

" ARMIN RP.

